NEVBD-TEC Summer Internship Program

 Rainy weeks make it very difficult to collect ticks with the tick drag, but found a small window of time during a break in the rain to travel to one of the intended tick collection sites in southern Virginia. Thankfully the site was able to try out over night and that morning and allowed me to collect 10 ticks. Was hoping to collect more ticks, but I think the rain earlier that week played a factor in why there was less ticks on the tick drag. Did notice something interesting, as soon as the clouds rolled in before the next round of rain started, the ticks all went away and for 30 10m passes in places I should collect atleast a couple of ticks there were none. It seems that with the barological pressure changing with the incoming rain it caused all the ticks to go away. The rain cut the trip short as I was supposed to go to another site as well, but that will just have to be collected another time.

 Hi, my name is Shawn Schwenn, I am a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University majoring in Biology. I just started my internship on Monday, May 19th at the Virginia Department of Health- Tick Surveillance Team. I already have done two tick drags in the Shenandoah Valley yesterday and have learned how to differentiate between different species of ticks under the microscope. It is a pretty interesting experience so far.

Hello!   My name is Nicole Shevera, and I will be working at the Camden County Mosquito Commission under the NEVBD Summer Internship Program! At the time of writing this, I am an Entomology student at Rutgers University in the School of Environmental and Biological Studies.  I am so excited to be starting the internship on June 2nd!!